It’s official–Mayor Daley is human. For the many who doubted, the 2004 city budget process proved it.
The short version of that high-pitched, excited response: “I don’t have absolute power! You’re greatly mistaken! I’m just a human like anyone else!”
Still, Daley’s budget had passed the City Council nearly intact. Nearly. During the October budget hearings the aldermen had pounded their chests a bit and won a couple of skirmishes. They’d also come up with some useful ideas, two of which are already heading toward reality as new ordinances.
But before we look at why the budget would make an alderman hit the bottle, here’s a quick primer on the process.
Mayor Daley has no part in all this, and Abolt appears only on his scheduled day. After the hearings end, there are a couple weeks of behind-the-scenes dealing between the aldermen and the administration. Finally the full council meets and passes Daley’s budget unanimously, though a simple majority would do. At the press conference afterward reporters ask Mayor Daley if he has too much power over the council. You’ve already read his usual response.
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“That’s cruel,” someone muttered.
